Hortense the Hen- Floppy comb, a lil unsteady/lethargic

[My1stChickens]

late afternoon: when I went to take fresh/cold water to the flock, I noticed most came running--Tiffany did not. she was sitting under the shade of a tractor that's out in their pen, and I had to urge her out. She looked okay, but then she slowed and I was able to catch her. Easily. (this is not that kind of hen). She did not struggle. I headed to the house, got her isolated, then had to clean up the other isolation cage for her. She is just laying there, breathing hard. She has water and some nibbles, but she's not shown interest. Comb is flopping, and for a hen that was up and walking when I caught her, she now just sits. As the evening went on, she's puffed up (like Hortense did). One wing is in an awkward position, as are her feet. It's almost like she's drugged. She is not breathing as hard as Hortense, but she's not well.

Meanwhile Hortense HAS eaten some today. Not chicken food, but at least she's eaten and I perceive her to be more alert, more expressive. I'm hoping this is good-- and not my imagination.

So two hens with very similar/same presentation of symptoms.

So what on earth is going on here???

 

[My1stChickens]

By bed time Tiffany (hen2) was very puffed up but seemed to be resting, not in distress. She had passed some liquid, no solid poop. Since she was presenting like Hortense did, and Hortense eventually seems to be improving a bit, I was concerned but not pessimistic. But she passed sometime during the night. No sign of struggle, she was just gone.

Hortense is up, alert and has begun making chicken noises again but not eating when she got up. At this point, running out of foods to try but I made a little oatmeal with raw sunflower seeds. I know they don't have a sense of smell, and barely have a sense of taste, but for some reason she started eating this oatmeal pretty enthusiastically. She ate a little less than a tablespoon full. Since then no interest in anything, and she's not passed any poop since she ate. I think her breathing is not as pronounced, several times today when I checked her and she was standing, she was barely moving with each breath. If she will just eat some more, I'd sure feel better. I've wondered if antibiotics might help, but she does not show signs of respiratory infection-- no wheezing or sneezing. I thought about hand feeding her with a dropper but that seemed to put her into a seizure the other night so I'm not confident. I guess wait and see.

 

[My1stChickens]

Breathing is still heavy, markedly more so when sitting. Comb is still flopped over, and starting to not look as healthy. Sometimes I'm detecting a little noise when she breathes- not wheezing but like tiny grunts. She did not want to eat this morning but through the day did eat a few grape halves. I started her on Tylan 200. I'm not sure she has a respiratory infection, but she's breathing heavy, and not getting better. If I can't get her better pretty quick, I'll have to find a vet who will euthanize her-- basically I don't think we have much to lose by trying it. She weighs 3.8# so I have her .3 cc around lunch, and will give again right before I go to bed. While I'm at it, I may give some nutra drench. I've only give Tylan once before but it seems like there was great improvement after two days. If she does not improve, I won't make her live in a cage, not well enough to eat. I'll find a vet who will help me give her a peaceful ending, even if it's just an IM overdose of sedative. I've read the stuff about "do it yourself euthanasia at home" and there's just no way I can do that.

 

[My1stChickens]

Final update:
Another day of barely eating, but I was proceeding with the Tylan 200. I had the 1cc syringe in place (which does take a bit of time and luck, since I have no helper). But as I started to slowly dispense, she raised her head dramatically, dislodging the syringe. I was pretty sure aspiration occurred. She was upset, so gave her time to settle down. She sneezed a few times, and was breathing hard. By early evening, I'd researched as much as I could and realized that aspiration could kill her "immediately" but if not she'd have pneumonia. This, on top of already being sick, not responding to a week of supportive care led me to a decision to euthanize. I considered first thing in the morning, but did not want to risk her suffering needlessly. Once I knew I needed to end it, there was nothing to gain by letting her linger so I called a vet I know, who thankfully was still at his clinic and said he'd help. While I drove there, he researched what to inject, where to inject. He was compassionate, and there was no further duress for her.

I don't know what was wrong with her-- or the other hen who showed the same symptoms but passed quickly.

The rest of the flock is doing well considering it's 100 degrees every day. The possible exception is Goldie, but she's molting so it's understandable she's a bit miserable. She molts hard, but I ensure she gets high protein treats every day-- usually eggs.

I don't know if this thread will help anyone else or not since I don't know what really happened. Now that I know this vet with euthanize, I might be quicker to enact that option when I can't pinpoint what I'm dealing with but things are not going well.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm so sorry to hear about Hortense and Tiffany, I have not been on for several days and am just now playing catchup

It's good you found a vet that can help. If you have another one go down this quickly, sending the body for necropsy/testing would give you more information.

 

[My1stChickens]

I'm so sorry to hear about Hortense and Tiffany, I have not been on for several days and am just now playing catchup

It's good you found a vet that can help. If you have another one go down this quickly, sending the body for necropsy/testing would give you more information.

Thank you Wyorp. I'm grateful that I found a vet to help, and he did so after hours. He had to do some quick research, but we used an overdose of barbiturate-- the same bright pink drug used to euthanize larger animals. He was compassionate, gentle and her passing was peaceful.

I know a necropsy might have been useful, but it would not change the outcome. I just wanted her to not suffer when it appeared there was little hope of a good outcome. I really have to think hard about whether I can even continue with chickens.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thank you Wyorp. I'm grateful that I found a vet to help, and he did so after hours. He had to do some quick research, but we used an overdose of barbiturate-- the same bright pink drug used to euthanize larger animals. He was compassionate, gentle and her passing was peaceful.

I know a necropsy might have been useful, but it would not change the outcome. I just wanted her to not suffer when it appeared there was little hope of a good outcome. I really have to think hard about whether I can even continue with chickens.

I know it's so heartbreaking to lose them.